IS THIS THE YEAR SAUDI WOMEN DRIVE?

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 000357

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO G/IWI; NEA/ARP FOR JOSH HARRIS;
DRL/NESCA FOR MATT HICKEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KWMN KPAO SA
SUBJECT: IS THIS THE YEAR SAUDI WOMEN DRIVE?

REF: A. RIYADH 00233

B. RIYADH 02024

Classified By: Political Counselor Lisa M. Carle
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. KEY POINTS

-- (U) A senior Saudi government official has once again
raised the possibility that Saudi Arabia will lift the ban on
women driving, perhaps as early as this summer.

-- (C) The government has not acted on similar statements in
the past (ref A, B),and no evidence exists to suggest an
imminent lifting of the ban on women driving.

-- (C) A 1991 fatwa, or religious decree, prohibits women
from driving in Saudi Arabia. Bureaucratic and practical
obstacles exist, but the chief barrier is cultural; many
Saudis, male and female, remain uncomfortable with the social
independence driving could bring for Saudi women.


2. COMMENT

-- (C) Any decision to allow women to drive will be made by
King Abdullah, when and if he judges that Saudi society is
ready to accept such a major change. The recent announcement
could be yet another trial balloon to help gauge society's
readiness. In this sense, it is noteworthy that the
statement was made to a foreign newspaper, and reported
second-hand in the Saudi press. Lifting the ban would be
consistent with King Abdullah's policy of incremental reform.
However, past statements by the King and other high ranking
officials have positioned the issue as social, rather than
political or legal, implying that the government would follow
the will of the people.

-- (C) There has been little printed public opposition to
this latest announcement but much verbal debate about the
pros and cons of the ban and to what extent, or under what
circumstances, women should be permitted to drive. Such open
discussion could indicate greater acceptance of the idea, but
there are no public opinion polls to verify this.

END KEY POINTS & COMMENT.

--------------
BACKGROUND
--------------


3. (U) READY TO ROLL?: In a January 21 statement to the
UK's Daily Telegraph, Saudi Deputy Information Minister
Abdulaziz bin Salamah stated, "There has been a decision to
move on this (women drivers) by the Royal Court because it is
recognized that if girls have been in schools since the
1960s, they have a capability to function behind the wheel
when they grow up.... We will make the announcement soon."
He added, "In terms of women driving, we don't have it now
because of the reticence of some segments of society."


4. (U) SOURCE OF THE BAN: The ban on women driving dates
from a 1991 fatwa issued by the late Grand Mufti of Saudi
Arabia Sheik Abdulaziz bin Baz. The Grand Mufti claimed that
allowing women to drive would result in public "mixing" of
men and women, put women into dangerous situations because
they could be alone in cars, and therefore result in social
chaos. The fatwa has the force of law and would need to be
rescinded through another fatwa from the current Grand Mufti.


5. (U) WOMEN DRIVE ANYWAY: There are, in fact, many
instances in which Saudi women defy the prohibition. Women
drive on private property such as desert farms or residential
compounds beyond reach of police. Embassy contacts and media
report that in rural areas women routinely drive out of
necessity, without being stopped. Al-Hayat Newspaper
reported February 16 that ten people had been injured in an
accident involving a female driver in a rural village but
added "a woman driving in some Saudi villages is considered
normal." Several prominent princesses have spoken out
against the ban, including both Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal
(daughter of the late King Faisal) and Princess Amira
Al-Taweel (wife of Saudi business tycoon Al-Waleed bin
Talal). Princess Al-Taweel told the Associated Press on
February 9 that she drives when overseas and, like many
women, prefers to drive herself instead of "being with a
driver who is not related to me." An Arab News article on
January 7 reported that 1,354 Saudi women have obtained
drivers licenses in Bahrain in the past year.


6. (U) LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE? The King and other Saudi
officials suggest that they favor allowing women to drive but
are reluctant to get ahead of public opinion. For example,
in a February 2007 interview the king said, "The decision of
women driving is a social decision and the role of the
government is to provide the suitable atmosphere for it."
Similarly, Foreign Minster Prince Saud Al-Faisal stated in a
November 2007 television interview, "My point of view is that
women have the right to drive, but we are not the side who
decides that - the families should decide. For us, this is
not a political issue but a social issue that is something
that people should decide on rather than the government."

--------------
A BRIDGE TOO FAR?
--------------


7. (U) LOGISTICS: Saudi officials and other contacts often
cite the so-called practical problems that allowing women to
drive would pose. They say that Saudi authorities would need
to make certain accommodations in traffic law enforcement,
such as deploying female traffic police (women are not
currently part of the police forces) or separate facilities
in jails for women. Women would most likely need to remove
their face coverings to be able to see to drive, and expose
their faces to unrelated males, something many women resist.
Even if there were female traffic police, there would be no
way to ensure their availability each time a female motorist
committed a violation or needed assistance. Likewise, female
drivers would likely be forced to interact with male tow
truck operators or gas station attendants. Men caught running
red lights in Riyadh spend one night in a local police
station. While there are female prisons, most local police
stations have no separate facilities in which to detain women
(currently, women stopped for driving are not detained but
returned to a male guardian). Issues relating to traffic
offenses and accidents are dealt with at local government
offices that do not accommodate women in areas separate from
men.


8. (C) "MIXED" FEELINGS: One contact quoted a Saudi woman
as saying "Why would I want to drive when I already have a
driver? Driving would be an annoyance, not an advantage."
Some women also express fear of harassment if found driving
alone. Still other contacts counter that many Saudi families
simply cannot afford to hire drivers, and in a country where
cities have little public transportation, they argue that
benefits of mobility would outweigh social risks. Some male
contacts argue that, without the financial means to buy a car
and hire a driver for female family members, the current
system puts great strain on males forced to taxi female
family members wherever they go. This practice causes time
loss at work, or confines female family members to their
homes. Some males also support lifting of ban because they
oppose having a non-relative male driver in the car with
females.


9. (C) BACKING INTO IT? Many observers predict that the
dilemma will be solved with a gradual, step-by-step approach.
Rather than announcing a change, local authorities may
simply begin accepting applications from certain classes of
female drivers (for example, married women above a certain
age) in certain areas of the country. The issue clearly
provokes strong feelings and is one on which the government
remains cautious.
FRAKER